1. Technical Field
This invention relates to biometrically activated charge cards and, more particularly, to a charge card identification system for authorizing a user to execute a sales transaction at a point of sale location based upon biometric information of an authorized user.
2. Prior Art
The problem of forged ID cards in the U.S. is a lot more pervasive and ubiquitous than most people realize. New hologram and encoding technologies invented to curb the fake-ID market have, in fact, backfired. Cheap Internet templates, and high-quality printers and card-pressing machines, have led to a steep rise in fake-ID websites and ID “chop shops.” That has police and motor vehicle departments across the country, to say nothing of the FBI, scrambling to thin the ranks of college students, illegal immigrants, and outright thieves sporting wallets full of high-quality fake identification. While the FBI worries more about identity theft and credit-card fraud, the explosion in the fake-ID market is a bold warning about a world where false identities are becoming easy to create. And with theft and forgery becoming more anonymous via the World Wide Web, the trend is only becoming more pervasive. In four separate stings during spring break in Florida this year, police netted more than 10,000 fake IDs and arrested 350 minors. By that estimate, police say there are likely millions of fake IDs in circulation throughout the country today.
Indeed, some estimate that fully half of all high school students today carry some sort of forged ID. Technology has made forging fake IDs easier, cheaper, and faster. Today, an “identity package”—green card, Social Security card, and driver's license—can cost as little as $100, down from $300 a few years ago. The growth in ID forgeries has indeed been explosive and the FBI doesn't have the means to even put a dent in it. Police also acknowledge that prosecutions are unusual, both for fake-ID users and forgers. Obviously, it would be advantageous to provide a means for verifying the identification of an individual that can not be forged or duplicated.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,844 to Touboul discloses a system comprised of an inspector and a protection engine. The inspector includes a content inspection engine that uses a set of rules to generate a Downloadable security profile corresponding to a Downloadable, e.g., Java™ applets, ActiveX™ controls, JavaScript™ scripts, or Visual Basic scripts. The content inspection engine links the Downloadable security profile to the Downloadable. The set of rules may include a list of suspicious operations, or a list of suspicious code patterns. The first content inspection engine may link to the Downloadable a certificate that identifies the content inspection engine which created the Downloadable security profile. Additional content inspection engines may generate and link additional Downloadable security profiles to the Downloadable. Each additional Downloadable security profile may also include a certificate that identifies its creating content inspection engine. Each content inspection engine preferably creates a Downloadable ID that identifies the Downloadable to which the Downloadable security profile corresponds. The protection includes a Downloadable interceptor for receiving a Downloadable, a file reader coupled to the interceptor for determining whether the Downloadable includes a Downloadable security profile, an engine coupled to the file reader for determining whether to trust the Downloadable security profile, and a security policy analysis engine coupled to the verification engine for comparing the Downloadable security profile against a security policy if the engine determines that the Downloadable security profile is trustworthy. A Downloadable ID verification engine retrieves the Downloadable ID that identifies the Downloadable to which the Downloadable security profile corresponds, generates the Downloadable ID for the Downloadable and compares the generated Downloadable to the linked Downloadable. The protection engine further includes a certificate authenticator for authenticating the certificate that identifies a content inspection engine which created the Downloadable security profile as from a trusted source. The certificate authenticator can also authenticate a certificate that identifies a developer that created the Downloadable. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not provide a method for identifying fraudulent use of stolen credit cards or other IDs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,438 to Nakano discloses an electronic wallet system that is easy to use with high security. The electronic wallet system includes an IC card for storing electronic money information, an IC card reader/writer for reading data from, and writing data into, the IC card, an IC card loader unit for loading the IC card into, and unloading the IC card from, the IC card loader unit, an IC card load controller unit for controlling a load/unload operation of the IC card, and a lock signal generator unit for generating an IC card lock signal in response to an activation of an unload operation by the IC card load controller unit. An electronic wallet system with an ID number specific to the system, applied to a POS system, includes a system ID verification unit and an input unit for inputting data to the system, wherein an IC card can be unloaded in response to an activation of an unload operation by a load controller unit and an input of the system ID from the input unit. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not use finger print identification in order to ensure that a user is the true owner of a given identification card.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,077,310 to Shin discloses a method for switching dual Id verification systems for installing another carrier ID system on an equipment installation complying with SEMI E87. A first identification access system has internally installed on an equipment installation on which a second identification access system is then installed. Both systems are switched using a control flow, and a wafer carrier ID is obtained by the chosen verification system. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not use finger print identification in order to ensure that a user is the true owner of a given identification card.
Accordingly, a biometric charge card verification system is disclosed in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a system that is convenient and easy to use, that effectively protects a user's personal information, is lightweight and portable in nature, and reduces the many fraudulent applications for which fake ID cards are used. Such a system effectively uses identification parameters that are unique to an individual, thus ensuring that the card can not be used by any other individual. This effectively eliminates the ability to duplicate the card, thus ensuring that the person's identity can not be stolen. The present invention is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use.